


i'll roll the dice

by Anonymous



Series: ain't close enough [10]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Lots of Sex, M/M, Porn with Feelings, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 01:33:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20827172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The NHL doesn't get a Christmas break, but Harvard does, so Colton comes to visit.





	i'll roll the dice

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this took longer than expected, and also _is_ longer than expected. It grew a plot, and for that, I deeply apologize. Please enjoy some of my finest "the Avs are all dumbasses and I adore them to a man" material.

Alexander tries not to fidget too obviously on the flight home from St. Louis. He normally doesn't care one way or the other about flying; it's not like he's worried about this flight, but he wants it to go faster. It's barely a two-hour trip, but by the time they land he feels like he's almost vibrated through his chair with anticipation.

"Dude," JT says, nudging him with his elbow as they taxi to the gate. "Will you chill already?"

Alexander laughs. "Sorry," he says. “I'm just excited, you know? I haven't seen my brother since the Rangers game."

JT rolls his eyes. "Like you and Colton don't FaceTime more than any other two people I've ever met."

Alexander shrugs, hoping it comes off as casual. "We're close."

"I mean, I guessed, since he's crashing in your room for the next two weeks," JT says, and now he sounds amused. "Also, we seriously need a place with a guest room. I feel kind of dumb that we didn't think of that when we found this place."

Alexander laughs. "This is the first time we've needed one," he points out. He's glad they don't have one, because it would be hard to explain Colton sneaking into Alexander's room all the time, but he's not saying that to JT. "It'll be fine. We shared a room when we were kids, and we lived together at Harvard. I'm used to him being in my space."

JT shrugs. "It's whatever," he says, standing from his seat as the flight attendant announces that they can move around. "When's he land, anyway?"

"A few hours," Alexander says. "I'm just gonna grab a coffee and wait, and I'll meet you guys back at the house later."

"Okay," JT says easily. "I might crash when we get home, man, so don't yell when you come in."

"Right," Alexander says, getting up when JT moves in the aisle. He pulls his bag from the overhead bin and grins at JT. "I'll cancel the karaoke plans we had for the living room tonight."

"I've heard you sing, and those had better be permanently canceled," Josty says, leaning over his seat. "Or you'd better tell us when you're moving them to so JT and I can be literally anywhere else."

"Fuck you too, Josty," Alexander says sweetly, and he grins when JT and Josty both laugh.

Alexander has Colton's flight info pulled up on his phone, and he waves at the guys as they all head for their cars, heading towards the terminal instead. He's got a book he's working his way through, so all he has to do is find the gate and a seat.

He's about twenty feet from the gate when he stops dead in his tracks, a smile spreading slowly across his face. "You're here early."

Colton looks up from where he'd been messing around on his phone, and his smile is as big as Alexander's. "My last final ended up being take-home," he says. "I changed my flight this morning and figured I'd surprise you. I've been here for about half an hour."

Alexander walks the rest of the way towards him, dragging him into a hug. "Hi," he whispers.

Colton's arms wrap around him, and Alexander melts into him a little. "Hi," he murmurs back. "Shit, I missed you."

"Two weeks," Alexander says, still smiling. "Two whole weeks, and JT and Josty are both flying home for Christmas itself, so we'll have a few days where we won't have to worry."

"And a few days before that where we'll just have to be quiet," Colton says, waggling his eyebrows when Alexander pulls back. "Come on. Let's find my bag and then find your car."

Alexander grins and starts walking towards the train that'll take them to the main terminal. "This way," he says.

It's easy to get through the airport at this hour, and Colton's suitcase is one of the only ones left on the carousel when they make it to baggage claim, so it's not long before they're on the bus to the long-term parking lot. It's all Alexander can do to not reach out and take Colton's hand, but there's every chance that someone on this bus would know who he is. He knows Colton knows it, too, because he keeps flexing his fingers against his knee but he doesn't reach out.

"Long term," the driver calls out, easing the bus to a stop and flicking the lights on. Alexander stands and grabs his carry-on, walking to the front of the bus as Colton pulls his suitcase from the rack.

"Thanks," he says, smiling at the driver.

"Sorry about the Blues," the driver says, making a face. "I'm always sorry about the Blues, but especially tonight."

Alexander laughs and is suddenly very, very thankful that he'd remembered discretion. "Yeah, we'll get them next time," he says lightly, stepping off the bus. "Have a good night."

"You too," the driver calls as Colton follows him off.

"You didn't tell me you were so popular with the locals," Colton says, grinning when Alexander rolls his eyes.

"There are a few hockey fans here," he says, heading towards where he'd parked his car. "We do sell out most of the home games."

"Humble, too," Colton says with a laugh.

"I'll give you humble," Alexander shoots back.

Colton snickers. "That's not what I'm hoping you'll give me."

"Do you have a Christmas wish list or something?" Alexander asks as he unlocks his car and pulls the back open.

"Maybe," Colton says, lifting his suitcase in. "You're just going to have to wait and see, aren't you?"

"If I ask very, very nicely, will you tell me?" Alexander asks, tossing his bag in, too.

"Maybe," Colton says. "I might practice saying no to you, though. I'm pretty bad at it."

Alexander laughs. "Let's get back to the house," he says. "You can practice whatever you want."

Colton hums as he opens his door and climbs in, and he waits until Alexander's in his seat to speak. "I want to practice this," he says, and Alexander's already leaning in to kiss him over the center console, and it's warm and familiar. Alexander had no idea that the front seat of his car when it's twenty degrees could feel like home, but he probably should've expected it with Colton being right here.

"Wow, I'm glad we didn't do that on the bus," Colton says as he pulls back. "I mean, even aside from the driver knowing who you are, I don't want to share the look on your face right now with anyone else."

Alexander laughs. "It's just my face."

Colton grins and glances away. "You get this look sometimes," he says, shrugging. "Mostly when you're looking at me."

"Like I love you?" Alexander asks. "I hope that's not a surprise at this point."

"It's not," Colton says, looking back at him. "I still want to keep it to myself, though. That's a look for _me_."

Alexander shivers slightly. "Yeah," he breathes out, and Colton's smile widens as he leans in, brushing their lips together again.

"Like that," he murmurs as he pulls back. "I'd say I wanted a photo of it, but I'd make it my lock screen or something, and then everyone would know."

Alexander laughs and pulls back. "Well, then, that's a no," he says lightly. "One of very, very few."

"Yeah, I figured," Colton says easily. "How far of a drive is it?"

"About an hour," Alexander says, starting the car. "You can sleep if you want to. I wouldn't blame you at all."

"I might," Colton admits. "I got up early to finish that final, so I've been up forever."

Alexander smiles softly. "You didn't have to do that."

"Three extra hours," Colton says. "Three hours that I could spend actually holding your hand instead of wishing I was here already so I could do it."

Alexander's smile widens. "As soon as I get on the road," he promises. "It's almost a straight shot until we hit Boulder, once we get on the highway."

"Then you should get on the highway," Colton says. "So I can hold your hand before I conk out."

"I'm working on it," Alexander promises. It's not far and he's pretty used to the drive, so it only takes a few minutes before he's reaching out.

Colton takes his hand without hesitation, rubbing circles against the back of it with the pad of his thumb. "Now this is what I'm talking about," he says, and when Alexander glances quickly over, he's got his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

Alexander smiles and focuses on the road. It really is a straight and boring drive at this hour, and when he hears Colton start breathing deep and even, Alexander gently pulls his hand back and turns the radio on quietly. Colton doesn't stir as Alexander navigates his way off the highway and into Boulder, taking the back roads that avoid the lights running through the center of town. He pulls into the driveway and parks the car, shooting a text to his group chat with JT and Josty to let them know that he's home early, and turns to Colton.

"Hey," he says quietly, reaching out to nudge at Colton's shoulder. "Hey, Colton, you have to get up. The bed isn't far, but I can't carry you there."

Colton sighs and blinks his eyes open. "Are you sure?"

"I have to play tomorrow, and also, I'm pretty sure both of my roommates would have questions," Alexander says, amused. "If you want to answer them…"

Colton makes a face and turns to stretch. "I'll pass."

"I figured," Alexander says. "I can grab your bag if you just want to go in."

"I mean, I need to wait for you anyway," Colton says, smiling at him. "I've seen a lot of your bedroom over FaceTime, but I have no idea where in the house that actually is."

Alexander laughs, shaking his head. "I forgot you haven't been here," he says. "That's kind of weird, to be honest."

"Well, we're fixing that now," Colton says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Come on, show me around."

It doesn't take long to get their bags from the back of the car, and then Alexander trudges up towards the house. He's got his keys out, but the door opens when he walks onto the porch, and a beaming Josty walks past him to pull Colton into a back-slapping hug. "Hey, man!"

"Hey," Colton says, laughing and clapping Josty on the back. "How's it going?"

"Good, good," Josty says, stepping back with a grin. "JT and I were gonna make up the couch bed for you, but man, your flight was fast."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Colton says with a smile. "I caught an earlier flight, and I don't mind sharing."

"I mean, if you're sure," Josty says, shrugging. "He doesn't kick in his sleep?"

"I kick back," Colton says, grinning when Josty laughs. "It's not a problem, I promise. It's just for a couple of weeks, and it's not like I haven't shared in more cramped quarters on road trips."

"True that," Josty says, like the enormous nerd he is. "Come in, get your shit settled. JT's making cocoa, and man, you have to try it. He knows what the fuck he's doing with cocoa."

"It is good cocoa," Alexander says. "Take a left down the hall, and I'm the second door on the right."

"Got it," Colton says, dragging his bag in. He disappears down the hallway while Alexander is taking his shoes off in the entryway, and Alexander doesn't watch him walk away only because Josty's still standing right next to him.

"Dude," he says, nudging Alexander with a line creasing his forehead. "We can go to Target tomorrow and, like, get an air bed."

"Why does it weird you out so much that we're just gonna share?" Alexander asks, frowning for show. It's not like he doesn't _know_ why it's weird, what it's implying, all of that. It's just that sometimes the best way to throw Josty off of something is to lean into it, so Alexander tells the part of his mind that's blaring about being found out to calm down.

Josty laughs and shrugs. "I guess it's because I have a sister," he says, stepping back. "And JT's got two of 'em. You know people would flip their shit if we pulled that."

Alexander blinks. "Well, if you ever want to have Kacey visit and she crashes in your bed, I promise not to be weird about it, how's that," he suggests.

"Works for me," Josty says cheerily as Colton walks back into the living room.

"Hey, assholes, I have cocoa," JT yells from the kitchen, and Josty's head whips around so fast that Alexander winces.

"Whiplash much?" Colton asks, laughing when Josty pushes past him.

"Shut the fuck up and come have your whole life changed," Josty says, disappearing into the kitchen.

Colton looks at Alexander, who shrugs. "I mean, it's good cocoa."

"Is it actually life-changing?" Colton asks.

"You could come try some and find out for yourself," JT says, leaning out of the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hey," Colton says, raising his hand in half a wave. "How're you?"

"Ready to share my cocoa and then go the fuck to sleep," JT says. "Fucking Blues. Fucking overtime."

"Yeah, fuck overtime," Colton agrees readily. "You guys are fucking cursed."

"Don't say that in front of Coach," Alexander says darkly. "I think he's starting to believe it."

JT snorts. "Cocoa," he says, retreating into the kitchen.

The cocoa is good, and the noise Colton lets out when he takes his first sip is even better. It's dark and rich, and there's cinnamon and spices in it, things Alexander had asked about once just to make sure he wasn't allergic to them but has since forgotten. It's good, though, warm and comforting, and Colton bumps his ankle against Alexander's under the table as they sit quietly and drink.

"Well," JT says, standing and putting his mug in the sink, "it's gonna be cool catching up with you, man, but it's not happening tonight."

Colton laughs. "Yeah, I'm beat too," he says. "Finals still suck, in case you were wondering."

"Ugh," Josty says with feeling. "I don't miss that."

"Yeah, you have fun, though," JT adds. "Tys, c'mon, you said you were gonna help me change my sheets before bed."

Josty groans. "Why did I do that?"

"Because you're the one who got cracker crumbs in them," JT says flatly. "You're not getting out of it."

"What if you just share with me tonight, and we do it tomorrow," Josty suggests. "I'm wiped, man, come on."

JT starts, and for some reason he glances over at Alexander, the apples of his cheeks going red before he looks back at Josty. "Uh," he mumbles. "I mean, sure. Whatever. You're not getting out of it tomorrow, though."

Josty fistpumps, then yawns so wide it makes his jaw crack. "Right, that's a problem for tomorrow me," he says, standing up. "Come on, let's crash."

Alexander sips at the last of his cocoa as JT and Josty make their way out of the kitchen, and he glances over when Colton hums. "Are they…"

"They're working on it," Alexander says. "Although I don't know how aware of it either one of them is."

"I mean, JT knows what's up," Colton says with a grin. "And Josty's into him, but I don't think he knows what to do with that yet."

"What, you're a psych major now?" Alexander asks, laughing when Colton makes a face.

"Just because I pay attention," Colton says as he stands. "Also, I wasn't just saying that I'm tired to get Josty to go away. I'm exhausted, Alexander."

"Yeah," Alexander says, standing up as well. "Put your mug in the sink; I'll deal with it in the morning. Let's get some sleep."

Colton grabs both mugs and deposits them in the sink, then walks out of the kitchen. Alexander doesn't hesitate to follow him, heading down the hall and turning into his bedroom.

As soon as the door is closed and locked, Colton turns and pulls Alexander in, and Alexander melts into the embrace. "Hi," he says, burying his face in Colton's neck as he clenches his hands in Colton's shirt.

"Hi," Colton murmurs back. "God, it feels like it's been forever."

"It does," Alexander agrees. He pulls back and tilts his head up, and Alexander has accepted by this point that Colton's always going to meet him kiss for kiss. It feels more like them saying hello than it feels like it's going anywhere, and Alexander is fine with that. They've got two weeks, he reminds himself. They don't have to do everything tonight; they don't have to do _anything_ tonight.

Colton pulls back a moment later, swaying them a little as he smiles. "We should get in bed," he says. "I'm gonna drop, and I always sleep better when you're doing your octopus thing all over my chest."

"I'll buy you a weighted blanket," Alexander says, raising an eyebrow.

"Somehow I just don't think that's gonna cut it," Colton says, laughing. "There's nothing like the real thing."

"Well, then, I guess I'll just have to give you what you asked for," Alexander says. "Go figure."

"We're both pretty good at that, huh," Colton replies. He leans in and steals another kiss before pulling away. "I'm gonna change and brush my teeth, and then I'm probably going to sleep until you get back from skate in the morning."

"That's a good choice," Alexander says. He steps back so he doesn't reach out again; he'll have Colton in his bed soon enough. "Let's get ready."

It's easy to share space with Colton; it's a lifetime of doing it, Alexander knows, plus years of them doing _this_, learning how to be brothers and how to be lovers and how to exist with each other in every way they can. They know how to move with each other, circumnavigating the world around them and whatever room they're in together, and there's something really comforting about it, knowing that there's a push and pull to them.

They set their toothbrushes down and Colton leans in, and the kiss is minty and short, but Alexander smiles into it anyway. "Bed," he says against Colton's lips. "And we're not home, okay? We need to be careful."

Colton laughs and steps back. "We need to be careful at home, too," he says.

Alexander blinks and shakes his head. "Our apartment," he says, smiling faintly. "That's-- when I think of home…"

Colton's expression goes soft. "Bedroom," he says, reaching out and taking Alexander's hand. He squeezes it tightly before letting go and pushing at Alexander's hip.

It's only a few steps down the hall, and then Colton is closing and locking the door, drawing Alexander in and kissing him. It's gentle, quiet in a way that has nothing to do with sound, and when Colton pulls back his eyes are closed.

"I love you," he says quietly. "I-- I feel like there should be a way to say how much, but I _love_ you, and that's all I've got here."

"I love you too," Alexander says. "And I know the feeling."

"This is why people write poetry, I guess," Colton says. His lips quirk up, and he still has his eyes closed. "Don't expect any, though. I love you enough to not put you through that."

Alexander laughs. "And I won't sing," he promises. "Deal?"

Colton opens his eyes and smiles, reaching down for Alexander's hand. He brings it up to his chest, holding it there and rubbing gently at the backs of Alexander's fingers. "Deal," he says.

Alexander smiles back. "We should sleep," he says. "I promise to do my very best octopus for you."

"That's all I can ask for," Colton says, stepping back and letting Alexander's hand fall. He puts his hand over his mouth as he yawns, and Alexander feels his eyes crinkle with the force of his smile. He takes Colton's hand as he drops it to his side, pulling him to the bed and then climbing into it.

"Come on," he says, rolling over and taking the covers with him.

Colton climbs in after him, and Alexander drapes himself over Colton's chest. He tucks the covers beneath Colton's shoulder, humming softly when Colton's arm wraps around his shoulders. "Love you," Colton whispers, pressing his lips to Alexander's forehead.

"Love you too," Alexander says, closing his eyes with a smile.

Alexander wakes up before his alarm goes off, eyes blinking open in the early gray light coming in around the blinds. He feels well-rested, which is a nice change for this time of the season, and he smiles when he feels Colton's thumb rubbing against his shoulder.

"Morning," he says, turning his face to press a kiss to Colton's chest.

"Morning," Colton replies, and he hasn't been up for long, not if the low, rough sound of his voice is any indication. "So, now that we both got some sleep… how far away is Josty's room, exactly?"

"Other side of the hall, down a door," Alexander says.

"Close, but not too bad," Colton muses. "I woke up thinking about getting my mouth on you, so if you're in the mood to keep quiet…"

"As if I'm gonna turn that down," Alexander replies. "Do we have time?"

"I'll be fast," Colton says. "And it's not like I'm keeping score, one for one, so if I have to get myself off in the shower, it's whatever."

Alexander snorts. "With how often you like making me come twice, I'm glad you're not keeping score."

"I mean, maybe a different kind of score," Colton says, shifting against the bed. "One where I'm pretty fucking proud of being able to do that."

"One where I'm pretty fucking glad you can, too," Alexander says. "Not this morning, though."

Colton laughs. "Not this morning," he agrees. He pushes gently at Alexander's arm. "Lay on your back for me."

"I can do that," Alexander says, rolling off of Colton. He flips the covers back and spreads his legs, and Colton shifts down the bed and settles between Alexander's thighs. He grins up at Alexander, then kisses the spot where his boxers end on his left leg, then on his right. Alexander laughs. "Sap."

"Guilty," Colton says. "Get out of these already."

"Sappy _and_ bossy," Alexander says, pushing up so he can wriggle out of his boxers. "Happy now?"

"Very," Colton says, grinning up at him, and then he leans in and licks very delicately at the tip of Alexander's cock.

Alexander raises an eyebrow. "Not to push you or anything, but we're kind of on a timeline here."

"Now who's bossy?" Colton says, but he's grinning as he wraps a hand around Alexander's cock, stroking him a few times before lowering his mouth down around him.

"Oh," Alexander says, grabbing the pillow and holding it over his face. He's good at quiet, yeah, but Colton's not starting slow at all, rubbing his tongue against the underside and then ducking his head down to swallow around him. It's good, and it's been _months_, and Alexander's only human.

He shifts when Colton pulls up, planting one foot on the bed and drawing it up so Colton can get closer, and he hears Colton laugh, a quick breath against his hip. "Don't stay still," he says, and then he gets his mouth back on Alexander's cock.

"God," Alexander says into the pillow. He thrusts shallowly into Colton's mouth when Colton pushes a finger between his cheeks, rubbing against his hole, and Colton hums around him, sinking down farther. Colton swallows as he pushes his finger in to the first knuckle, and it's barely anything but it feels like so much, and Alexander bites his lip hard and thrusts up a few more times before he gasps into the pillow and comes.

"Yeah," Colton mutters when he pulls off, and Alexander moves the pillow and looks down to where Colton has a hand shoved into his boxers, hips rocking, mouth dropping open as he shudders. He drops to the bed a moment later, and the noise he makes is quiet and satisfied. "Well, that's _way_ better than how I woke up yesterday."

Alexander laughs. "Same."

"An improvement all around," Colton says. "And we finished before your alarm went off. I'd say we deserve a prize, but…"

"Yeah," Alexander agrees. "Not having my orgasm interrupted by the alarm kind of is the prize."

"You said it," Colton says, and that's when the alarm starts going off.

Alexander grins and turns to grab his phone, shutting it off as Colton laughs. "I need to shower," Alexander says, sitting up as Colton pushes to his knees. He leans in for a kiss, and he's not surprised when Colton pushes a hand into his hair, making it deep and more than a little filthy, given the way he can still taste himself in Colton's mouth.

"You should shower, yeah," Colton says when he pulls back. "How long's your practice gonna run?"

"Well, it's game day, so we'll have skate and then tape," Alexander says, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "And it's at the rink, not the practice facility, so the drive's not as bad. I'm guessing we'll be back by lunch."

"Cool," Colton says. He sprawls across the bed when Alexander stands. "I'm going back to sleep."

Alexander laughs. "Enjoy," he says as Colton rolls himself back up in the sheets.

He showers quickly and gets dressed quietly; Colton wasn't kidding about going back to sleep, and he's already out again by the time Alexander gets back into the bedroom. He closes the door quietly behind himself as he heads to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Dude," Josty says at normal volume, and Alexander jumps. Josty snickers.

"He's still asleep," Alexander says, the white lie slipping out of his mouth without him really thinking about it beforehand. "I guess finals really kicked his ass."

"Finals _are_ ass," Josty mutters, but his voice is quieter. "JT said we should pick up lunch on the way back and then chill for a little while before pregame naps. What does Colton like?"

"Food," Alexander says blandly. When Josty rolls his eyes, Alexander grins. "If you'll eat it, he'll eat it. And he doesn't have my allergies, so don't worry about that."

"Peanut butter jelly time," Josty says, doing something that Alexander is going to generously call "dancing" down the hallway.

Alexander snorts as they walk into the kitchen. "Isn't that video older than you?"

"No," Josty says immediately, then frowns. "I don't think so?"

"Probably," JT says from the table. He's got what Alexander's assuming is at least his second cup of coffee in front of him, since that was an entire word he just spoke. "What video?"

Alexander grins as they start squabbling; it's normal, the kind of chaos he's come to expect and even enjoy in the mornings. It makes it easy to grab stuff for breakfast and eat quickly before heading to the car, JT and Josty trailing after him, now deep in a discussion about what vegetable would be the worst addition to a smoothie.

Skate is fine; there's nothing remarkable about it, which is good, because Alexander's mind keeps wandering back to Colton, wrapped up in the sheets of his bed. It's not like he'll be able to go home and climb in with him, but the thought is sticking with him anyway, warm and sweet in the bottom of his stomach as he follows the guys off the ice and into a room for tape review.

It's mercifully quick; the Stars are good, but they also play each other kind of often, so there's not that much to note. It means that Alexander is back in his car, showered and ready to go, about an hour after he gets off the ice, so he pulls up Snapchat and opens Colton's contact.

_On the way. We'll stop and pick up lunch, so it'll be an hour._

He locks his phone and puts it in the cupholder, very pointedly not looking when he hears a reply come through; there's every chance it's a photo of Colton shirtless in his bed, and JT's climbing into the passenger's seat as Josty scrambles into the back, so he's not risking it.

"Where to?" he asks, putting the car in gear and starting the drive.

"We narrowed it down to two places," JT says. "Do you want to get--"

"No," Josty cuts in. "Option A or option B? I promise you're not allergic to either one, and this way JT can't be mad if you pick mine."

Alexander rolls his eyes. "A."

Josty cracks up as JT groans. "Do we have to?"

"What did I just agree to?" Alexander asks, amused.

"You know that Chipotle that we can't go into without four people hitting on JT?" Josty says gleefully.

Alexander snorts. "Wait, if we're going there, we should pick Colton up first," he suggests. "So he can experience the whole thing."

"Yes," Josty says, laughing again as JT sighs loudly and slumps down in his seat.

"Text him," Alexander says. "I let him know we were on the way, but he's probably still in his pajamas, knowing him and days off." It's easier to get in and out of sweatpants when they want to mess around, Colton had told him once, a sly grin on his face. Alexander hadn't been able to argue then, and he's not going to start trying now.

JT pulls out his phone and starts texting, and Alexander grins as Josty starts listing all of the different people who have hit on JT in the Chipotle. It's honestly really funny; there's something about JT that apparently does it for the general population of Boulder, and he never knows how to handle it. It's probably partially that so much of Boulder is a college town, but Alexander's pretty sure he's never seen someone get hit on so regularly as JT in the Chipotle.

Colton's waiting on the porch when Alexander pulls into the driveway, and he grins and waves at the car as he jogs over. "Yo," he says, sliding in next to Josty. "Am I really about to witness a dozen people hitting on JT?"

"Christ, I hope not," JT mutters, sinking lower into his seat as Josty loses it yet again.

"I think the record is half a dozen," Alexander says, pulling back out of the driveway. "And it was at the start of the semester, before all the college students got too tired to put forth the effort."

"Now it's mostly the cougars," Josty says, snickering. "You're about to see something really special, man."

"Can't wait," Colton says, and Alexander can hear the grin in his voice.

It doesn't take long to get to the Chipotle; Josty's busy dragging a protesting JT inside, so Alexander reaches out and lets his hand brush against the back of Colton's. "Did you go back to sleep?"

"The bed smelled like us," Colton says just as quietly. "Of course I did."

Alexander feels his cheeks heat; it's an unfortunately common occurrence, but it makes Colton smile and bump their shoulders together as they walk inside. "I'll nap with you," he offers. "Like, I'll sit there and dick around on my phone while you sleep."

"You don't have to," Alexander says as they get in line. JT's ahead of them, staring intently at the burrito fillings and not at the guy putting them into the burrito; from the way Josty's laughing, they've already found one person to hit on JT today.

"Believe it or not, I didn't come to visit your living room," Colton says. "Not unless that's where you nap now."

"It's not," Alexander says. "You sure you want to stay in bed all day?"

Colton lowers his voice even further. "With you? Always."

"Yo, Kerfoots," Josty says. Alexander looks up to see Josty frowning. "Kerfeet? Whatever. Come order so we can sit down and eat."

"Do not encourage him," Alexander says before Colton can say anything. "I mean it. Don't do that to either one of us."

Colton laughs. "Now I'm curious."

"Be less curious," Alexander advises as he steps up to order.

The girl behind the register smiles sunnily at JT and keeps playing with her hair as he pays for lunch, so that's two before they even get their drinks. Josty's wheezing as they sit down and he leans into JT's side as they slide into their booth. "We might break the record!"

"I am in a _Chipotle_," JT says despondently. He tugs his knit cap down farther over his ears. "Why?"

Colton hums. "You're just irresistible," he says, eyeing JT in a way that's so over-the-top that Alexander snickers. "If I wasn't already taken, I'd be into all that."

Josty's eyes light up. "Wait, what? There's a non-celibate Kerfoot?"

Alexander groans. "Josty, give it up."

"No, no, tell us more," JT says quickly, and Alexander's pretty sure he's just glad the attention has shifted away from him. "Your brother refuses to pick up so hard that the guys tease him about joining a monastery when he retires."

Colton chokes on his soda, and Alexander rolls his eyes. "Just because I'm discreet," he starts.

"You're not discreet," Josty says. "My guess is you've got a secret girlfriend back home, because you sure as hell don't get to camp looking like you haven't gotten any all summer." He waggles his eyebrows.

"Can we not talk about my sex life in public?" Alexander asks. He can feel his cheeks burning, and it doesn't get any better when Colton presses his thigh against Alexander's.

"Excuse me," someone says, and they all turn, facing the guy standing at the end of the table. He's shorter than all of them by a good deal, with dark hair and square, black-framed glasses, and he's looking at JT with a smile on his face. "I was wondering if--"

"Oh my god," JT says, and then he turns around, leans in, and kisses Josty square on the mouth.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it might," Colton observes, picking up his burrito. He turns to the guy still standing at the end of the table, whose face is now bright red as he looks anywhere but at JT, who still hasn't pulled his mouth away from Josty's. Alexander might have to intervene there in a minute; as JT had pointed out, they're in a Chipotle. "He's very flattered, but--"

"Oh my god," the guy says, and his voice actually squeaks. "I'm just-- I'm an Avs fan? And he's my favorite player? And I was gonna ask if he'd sign something?"

Alexander blinks at the guy, and then he drops his head and laughs, leaning into Colton's side. "Oh my god," he says. "Oh my _god_."

"This is, without a doubt, the best Chipotle I've ever been to," Colton says, somehow managing to not absolutely lose it. "Look, man, he's.... uh, busy. How about this, though: he gets you good tickets to tonight's game, he signs something for you, and you don't tell anyone you saw him making out with a teammate in a burrito place?"

"Yeah, cool," the guy says, nodding more like a bobblehead than anything else.

"Cool," Colton says as Alexander pushes himself back up, wiping at his eyes. He holds his hand out and elbows Alexander lightly. "I'm Colton. I'm this guy's brother."

"I'm Jason," the guy says, shaking Colton's hand. His eyes dart to Alexander. "Nice goal the other night."

"Thanks," Alexander says, smiling broadly. He reaches out with his foot and kicks JT hard in the shin. "We'll see if we can get you the win tonight, okay?"

"That'd be sweet," Jason says, smiling back at him. "Carey-- that's my boyfriend-- he's never been to a game before."

JT coughs, and when Alexander looks over, his face is beet red and his lips are bruised to hell and back. "So, uh," he says elegantly.

Jason laughs. "Um," he says. "Congratulations? I think?"

"Yeah," JT mumbles. "I'm totally in for getting you and your boyfriend tickets, and I'm… sorry. About this."

"I won't say anything," Jason says immediately. "Like, I'm not out to my family, and I know the scale's a lot bigger, but I get it." He pauses, then grins. "Although you might want to stop kissing dudes in Chipotles if you don't want people to notice."

That's what finally gets Colton to break, and he spills into Alexander's side as he laughs and laughs. 

JT and Josty disappear into Josty's room the second they get back to the house, and Alexander curls up in bed with Colton. His nap is good and the game is better; JT gets a point, and he manages to get the puck after the game and sign it for a very enthusiastic Jason and a somehow even more enthusiastic Carey.

"Well, it's sure been a day," Colton says as they watch Carey drag Jason away, talking excitedly about going to the merch store and looking at jerseys. "Honestly, I only saw part of it coming, and I for sure thought they'd wait until Christmas to kiss by the tree or something."

Alexander laughs. "You're giving both of them way too much credit. That would be kind of romantic."

"I mean, I kind of thought Josty would invite JT back to his room for some epic boning right after that," Colton says, shrugging. "I've met hockey players. I know how it goes."

"You're not wrong," Alexander says, amused. "Are you ready to go? I just have to check in with Coach about practice tomorrow and then I'll be good."

"Yeah, sure," Colton says, stepping back to lean against the wall. "I'll be here."

Alexander has to bite at the inside of his cheek from saying something too obvious, too sappy, but Colton's grin crinkles up the edges of his eyes as he looks at Alexander, so Alexander's pretty sure he gets the point anyway.

He checks in with Coach and grabs his things, and soon he's back in the hallway, nodding at Colton as he falls in step. JT and Josty bolted as soon as Jason had walked away; Alexander has the feeling there's going to be some loud music playing when they get home, if Josty's past hookups are anything to go by.

"So," Colton says when they climb into the car. He grins at Alexander as he turns the car on. "How adventurous are you feeling?"

Alexander blinks at him. "I don't think I want to answer that question until you tell me why you want to know," he says after a moment.

Colton laughs and glances around. "There are only a few other cars in the parking lot."

Alexander's face heats. "Yeah, and?"

"And I want to get my mouth on you," Colton says. "I can wait until we get back to your place if you want, Alexander, but I want to go down on you, and I really want to do it right now."

Alexander breathes in and tries to think past the mental images. He looks carefully out the window; Coach's car is still here, and the other two cars belong to guys on the training staff. The only other player still parked in the lot is Nemo, and as Alexander watches, his car starts and then pulls away. Coach will be another hour, at least, and the trainers will be even longer than that, and this is such a monumentally bad idea--

"Yeah," he says roughly, turning back to Colton. "Yeah, that's-- if you want--"

"Holy shit, really?" Colton asks, surging across the center console to kiss Alexander hard. "I thought for sure you were gonna say no."

"I should," Alexander says, a little breathless with it. "I absolutely should, Colton, but I'm not going to."

Colton pulls back and grins at him, and then he reaches across to palm at Alexander through his slacks. "I promise I'll swallow so I don't get your pants dirty," he says, voice low.

"Shit," Alexander breathes out, hips jerking up against Colton's hand. 

"Unbutton them, come on," Colton says. He leans back and peels out of his coat, dropping it to the footwell. "Let me swallow you as far as I can."

"Colton," Alexander whimpers. He's already embarrassingly hard in his boxers as he fumbles to undo his slacks.

Colton leans in to kiss him again, drawing Alexander's tongue into his mouth and biting gently at it. Alexander whimpers at the feeling, shuddering when Colton does it again.

"Guess what," he says as he pulls back. There's a grin on his face. "You can be as loud as you want here. You don't have to keep quiet."

"Good," Alexander says. He's got his slacks unbuttoned and unzipped, so he leans his seat back; it's the quickest way he can think to get his pants down, but Colton leans over when Alexander's seat is as far back as he can get it, getting a hand in his hair and tilting his face up so Colton can kiss him. "Just like that," Colton says as he pulls back, looking down at Alexander and smiling slowly. "Be loud for me, okay?"

"I will," Alexander promises, and Colton's smile gets wider.

"Good," he says, propping himself up on the center console. "God, I love hearing your noises. If you come visit me over the All-Star break--"

"I'll be there," Alexander cuts in. "I'll-- we can look at tickets tomorrow. I don't want to be anywhere else."

"Then I get to make you yell in our apartment again," Colton says, grinning down at him. "I'm already looking forward to it."

Alexander shivers, thinking about a week where he doesn't have to be quiet, where he can be as loud as Colton wants him to be. "Yeah," he says after a moment. "Me too."

"But in the meantime," Colton says, reaching out and palming Alexander again, "I'm gonna take care of this."

"Please," Alexander says, groaning when Colton squeezes lightly. "The longer we're here…"

Colton laughs. "We're not gonna get caught."

"We'd better not," Alexander says, and he can't tell if the feeling spiking through him is panic or pleasure, then decides it doesn't really matter, not with the way his cock throbs in his boxers.

"Trust me," Colton says, and Alexander nods, automatic and sure. Colton smiles at him, then looks down to where he's been tracing Alexander's cock through his boxers the whole conversation. He grabs the waistband and pulls it away from Alexander's stomach, reaching in and pulling his cock out. He settles the waistband below Alexander's balls, and it's instant tight pressure that makes Alexander gasp and shudder.

"Be loud," Colton reminds him, and then he puts his mouth on Alexander and starts working.

"God, fuck," Alexander says, threading his fingers into Colton's hair just for something to hold onto. Colton sinks down quickly before rising back up, and Alexander groans and tries to spread his legs wider. There's not a lot of room, though, and the feeling that courses through him this time is hot and heady, knowing that he has to sit there and take what Colton gives him.

Colton hums around him, wrapping his fingers around the base of Alexander's cock and working him with his hand as he sucks. It's good, it's always good, and Alexander gasps when Colton drags his mouth up slowly, lips stretching around him until he pulls off with a _pop_ that almost seems to echo in the car around them.

"Louder, Alexander, c'mon," he says, voice rough from what he's been doing, and Alexander's mouth drops open as Colton goes back down.

He whines with the feeling, Colton working his mouth and his hand in time, and he doesn't hold back when Colton sucks hard. "Colton, please, oh my god," he says, wishing he had the leverage to move his hips the tiniest bit, to chase the heat of Colton's mouth when he pulls up again. "You're so-- so good, please. I just need a little more, just a little."

Colton hums. "I can't get a finger in you here, baby. The angle's not good for it."

Alexander whines louder this time. "Just-- please. Something, anything."

Colton blinks at him, then leans up to kiss him, quick and rough. "Tell me to stop if you don't like it," he says, and then he puts his mouth on Alexander again, sinking down as far as he can go before swallowing.

It's amazing, the feeling of Colton's throat working, his mouth tight and hot and wet. Colton pulls back slowly, and Alexander's gasping out his name already, and then Colton hums and moves his lips and--

There's a jolt that's almost pain but ramps up into pleasure as Colton gently drags his teeth up the length of Alexander's cock, and Alexander _shouts_ with it, twisting his fingers in Colton's hair and arching up off the seat as he comes.

True to his word, Colton swallows around him, not pulling off until Alexander whimpers. "Oh my god," he says, feeling completely dazed. "Kiss me?"

"Yeah," Colton breathes out, lunging up to press his mouth to Alexander's. All he can taste is himself, and he makes a helpless noise as he licks into Colton's mouth, chasing the taste of it. He reaches out to twist his fingers in Colton's shirt, holding him close as Colton kisses him deeply.

Alexander blinks as Colton pulls back, and Colton laughs softly. "Okay, I didn't think of that," he says, reaching out to card his fingers through Alexander's hair. "You're a zombie after you come. You need a nap before you drive."

"No, just," Alexander says, but the thought of a nap makes him want to yawn, and he has to struggle against it.

Colton laughs again, leaning in to brush their lips together. "Get your pants back on and we'll switch," he says. "I'll drive and you can zone out."

Alexander debates trying to argue with him, but it's not like Colton is wrong, so he reaches down to get himself back into his pants. "Thanks," he says quietly.

"Of course," Colton says. "I'm the best brother. Don't worry, I won't tell Daniel."

It makes Alexander snort. "I don't think that's a title Daniel thinks he has a chance of winning," he says dryly.

"Good," Colton says, grinning as he opens his door. "Come on, switch with me. Let's get home."

Alexander nods and opens his door, and he doesn't stumble once on his walk to the passenger's seat, which he honestly thinks is kind of remarkable. He buckles himself in and then puts his hand on the center console, knowing that Colton will take it once they're on the highway.

He's asleep before they turn out of the parking lot, and he wakes up to the feeling of Colton squeezing his hand. "Hey," he says quietly, and Alexander blinks his eyes open. "Home sweet home."

Alexander looks out the window, and sure enough, they're parked in the driveway behind Josty's car. "Oh," he says. "I didn't mean to sleep the whole way."

"I kind of figured you would," Colton says, clearly amused. "Let's go inside so you can go back to sleep."

Alexander hums. "We should go inside," he says. "But we should also get you off before I go back to sleep."

"I have two hands and a lot of jerkoff material," Colton says, flashing him a smile. "You don't have to--"

"But I want to," Alexander cuts in. He's still half-asleep, but he's not going to let that stop him.

"Let's get inside, and we can figure it out in there," Colton suggests, opening his door. As soon as he does, Alexander starts laughing; Josty's hookup Spotify playlist is going strong, and Alexander can feel the bass thumping as he opens his own door.

"Subtle," Alexander says, walking towards the front door.

"How do you not get noise complaints called on you?" Colton asks, stepping up behind Alexander as he unlocks the door.

"We've got an agreement with the neighbors," Alexander replies, pushing the door open. "They don't bother us about late nights and loud music, and we don't say anything about the fact that they all have fake IDs that they use to buy weed."

Colton snorts. "Fair enough, I guess."

"College town in Colorado," Alexander says, kicking off his shoes. The music is actually louder in the house, but Alexander knows for a fact that Josty will turn it off when he's done, which means there's definitely still a chance that he and Colton could overhear something if it wasn't on right now. It's doubly convenient, too, because it gives them a little bit of cover.

Colton hums as they walk down the hall. "I'm serious; you can just go to sleep. I can handle myself."

Alexander snorts as he walks into the bedroom, pulling Colton in behind him and closing the door. He pushes Colton back up against it, reaching between them to get a hand on the front of Colton's pants. "Just because you can handle yourself doesn't mean you have to. I'm right here."

"You're welcome to handle me if you want," Colton says, grinning. "I just don't want to fuck up your day tomorrow. I know you have to skate."

"I do," Alexander says. "How about we change and get in bed, and then you rub off on me?"

"Fuck, yeah," Colton says, hips jerking against Alexander's hand. "Can you go again?"

"Yeah," Alexander says. "If you want."

Colton laughs. "When do I ever not want you?"

Alexander smiles and leans in to kiss him, reaching past Colton to lock the door. "Strip," he breathes out against Colton's mouth. 

"Happily," Colton says as Alexander steps back. Alexander grins at him and takes his jacket off, hanging it on the back of the chair at his desk, then loosening his tie. He glances at Colton, whose eyes are dark as he watches Alexander pull at his clothing.

Alexander grins. "I'll strip for you some other time," he says.

"I'll hold you to that," Colton says, voice low. He glances at the door. "And I'll make sure you have better music."

Alexander snorts as he unbuttons his shirt. "His musical taste is usually fine. I think the playlist is something he googled."

"I'm definitely gonna chirp him about it in the morning," Colton says as he kicks out of the last of his clothing. "Just so you know."

"Josty's completely immune to shame," Alexander says. "Good luck with that."

"You know what, I believe that," Colton says, amused. He holds his hand out when Alexander finishes pulling his socks off. "Come here?"

Alexander takes his hand and lets Colton pull him in, grinning when Colton kisses him and thrusts against his hip at the same time. "You sure you want to kiss me here instead of getting in bed?"

"No," Colton says, stepping Alexander backwards. "I'm multitasking. Let me do my thing here."

"Oh, far be it from me to distract you, then," Alexander says, running a hand down Colton's back to squeeze at his ass. "What kind of brother would I be if I didn't let you focus?"

"The kind who's about to get his thighs fucked, if I'm lucky," Colton says, and Alexander shivers against him.

"You need to focus to do that?" he asks, half a beat too late, and Colton grins at him and pushes him down onto the bed.

"Maybe I just want to focus on you," he says, following Alexander down onto the bed. "You ever think about that?"

"A lot, actually," Alexander says as Colton leans in to kiss him again. "Although usually I'm thinking about me focusing on you."

"We match," Colton says. "Go figure."

"No way," Alexander says dryly, grinning when Colton laughs. "Although you did mention fucking my thighs, so unless you changed your mind…"

"I didn't," Colton says.

"I figured," Alexander says. "Lube?"

Colton leans over and pulls the nightstand drawer open, and Alexander has to bite his lip to keep from saying something about the way Colton's back arches, the stretch and play of the muscles in his arms as he roots through the drawer. He's gorgeous, lean and lithe, and Alexander loves having him here but he's already looking forward to going to Boston in January, having the space and the time to lay Colton out and make both of them loud without having to worry about a roommate overhearing.

Colton fishes the lube out and holds it up triumphantly. "Do you always keep it in the same place, or did you move it just for me?"

"It's habit to keep it where you can find it," Alexander says, laying back. "I think this, right here, proved why it's a good idea for me to keep doing that."

Colton laughs and rolls back into Alexander, cupping his face and kissing him briefly. "Roll over for me," he says, voice quiet.

Alexander kisses him once more before rolling onto his side, pushing an arm under his head and pulling his legs up. Colton clicks the lube open and squeezes some out, and Alexander shivers when Colton smears it between his legs.

"Sorry," Colton murmurs, pressing close behind him. "I promise I'll warm it up soon."

Alexander grins, pressing his thighs together. "You should get to that," he suggests. "Between the game and the orgasm in the car, I might fall asleep if you take too long here."

Colton snorts, reaching around to wrap his hand around Alexander's cock. "Liar."

"You caught me," Alexander says, rocking into Colton's fist. "Now what are you gonna do, huh?"

"I didn't realize there were options here," Colton says. Alexander can feel him, cock hot and hard against his thigh, and he swallows down the urge to ask Colton to just push into him.

He laughs instead, "We'll have time for options," he promises, lifting his leg a little so Colton can push forward, slipping between his thighs.

Colton groans when Alexander sets his leg down again. He thrusts, and the glide is smooth and easy, his cock rubbing up against Alexander's balls as he pushes forward. "This feels better than it has any right to."

"Yeah," Alexander says, pushing into Colton's hand when Colton pulls his hips back. There's no hesitation in their movements; they both know how to do this, know how the other is going to move and react, and it's easy as breathing to fall into a rhythm with it. Colton stays pressed up close behind him, and they rock together, Colton's cock pressing between Alexander's thighs and Alexander thrusting into Colton's hand.

"Yeah," Colton breathes out when Alexander tenses his thighs. He buries his face into Alexander's neck and groans quietly, thrusting faster, and Alexander reaches down to curl his fingers around Colton's, keeping the grip tight and perfect even as Colton comes all over his thighs. He can feel Colton's cock jerking with it, and Alexander bites his lip and squeezes himself a little harder, coming onto his stomach.

"Fuck, yeah," Colton mumbles, swiping at the mess on Alexander's stomach. He kisses below Alexander's ear, humming softly before he rolls away. Alexander hears him laugh. "Thanks for keeping the tissues in the same place, too," he says, and then he's back, wiping at Alexander's stomach more carefully, tissue in hand. He taps at Alexander's hip. "Lift up for me?"

Alexander does, sighing in contentment as Colton cleans him up, quick but careful, then curls up behind him again. His arm is heavy across Alexander's wait, holding him close, and Alexander drifts off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

"Dude," Colton says cheerfully as Alexander follows JT and Josty back in after practice. "What the _fuck_ was that playlist last night?"

JT's face goes as red as his hair, but Josty laughs easily. "Saving your poor ears," he says, waggling his eyebrows. "Trust me, it's nothing you want to overhear, especially not while you're sharing a bed with your brother."

Alexander's sure his face is as bright as JT's, but Colton just laughs and shakes his head. "You need better music, man," he says, pulling his phone out. "Please, _please_ let me help you build a better playlist."

"I mean, if you're offering," Josty says. "What, you got some sort of perfect playlist that gets all the girls at Harvard swooning?"

"Can't say I've ever tried it on a girl," Colton says easily, "but it's worked wonders on the guy I'm with."

"Right, you're the non-celibate one," Josty says eagerly, following Colton as he walks into the living room. "Tell me all about him."

"He's hot and I love him, and he's also not out, so I'm not giving you anything else," Colton says as he disappears from view.

Alexander has to fight to keep the smile from spreading across his face, but he can't do anything about the warm feeling in his chest. He doesn't really want to, if he's being honest with himself.

"So, uh," JT says from behind Alexander. Alexander turns and raises an eyebrow at him. "You didn't… hear anything last night, did you?"

"Just the music," Alexander confirms. "Which honestly was terrible, and I'm not sad that Colton's fixing that. You're welcome on his behalf, too."

JT snorts and rolls his eyes, but it looks like he relaxes some, too. "Yeah, the soundtrack was bad, but it was worth it."

Alexander doesn't fight the smile this time. "Oh really?"

JT's blush comes back in full force, and he glances at the door to the living room, where Colton and Josty are playing clips of various songs and laughing. "Yeah," JT says softly.

"Come on," Alexander says, turning towards the kitchen. "I want lunch, and you want to talk about it. Let's kill two birds with one stone here."

"I do _not_ want to talk about it," JT says adamantly. Alexander turns back towards him and raises both eyebrows this time, and JT deflates. "Okay, fine," he mutters. "I don't want to, but I think I should. Happy?"

"Thrilled," Alexander says, walking into the kitchen and pulling the refrigerator open. There are leftovers he can heat up, so he grabs those and puts them on the counter. He can hear JT pull out a chair and sit, but he doesn't say anything; if this was Josty, Alexander would wait him out, but JT needs to be poked and prodded into talking about anything, so Alexander dumps his food in a bowl and sticks it in the microwave, then turns to face JT. 

:So you and Josty," he begins.

"Yeah," JT mutters, glancing away. "I, uh. I like him."

Alexander bites the inside of his cheek until the urge to snort passes, and then he nods. "I gathered that," he says as neutrally as he can.

"No, like," JT says, frowning. "I like him and I want to go out with him, not just sleep with him."

"And have you used those exact words with him?" Alexander asks patiently.

"Of course not," JT says, sighing deeply. "I mean, I kissed him in a Chipotle yesterday. You think I've got any part of my shit together?"

"You know what, that's fair," Alexander says. He turns to get his food out when the microwave beeps, then carries it over and sits across the table from JT. "You know I'm gonna tell you to talk to him, right?"

JT scowls. "I was hoping for more helpful advice."

"Look, Colton's giving him better music as a cover for Josty having this exact same conversation with him," Alexander says. It's not like they discussed it, but it's also not like they needed to; Josty's emotions overflow in every direction whenever he's reminded of them, which Alexander has told Colton more than once, and Alexander has no doubt that he knew what he was signing on for when he offered to help Josty out.

JT glances back out towards the living room. "I know Josty's not into your brother, and Colton just mentioned he's with somebody for the second time in two days," he says. "And yet I'm still here telling myself that it doesn't make any sense to be jealous."

Alexander snorts hard. "Trust me when I say Colton's pretty serious about the guy he's with. You're not in danger of losing Josty to anyone in this house except your own stubbornness, JT."

JT makes a face, but then he leans in. "You've met Colton's guy? It sounded like he's pretty secretive about him."

"Yeah, we've crossed paths," Alexander says blandly. "Also, trying to distract me away from a conversation you admitted you need to have isn't gonna work, bud."

"I just," JT says, screwing his face up again. "I've been into him for a while, and now here we are."

"Here you are," Alexander agrees. "And here you're gonna stay, unless you use your fucking words."

"But I hate doing that," JT says, and Alexander knows the whine is half for show, but only half. 

"That's nice," Alexander says. "Enjoy your 'are we dating or not' purgatory, then."

"Ew, no," JT says emphatically. "God, fine, you win."

"You're welcome," Alexander says, amused, as Josty walks into the kitchen. JT turns towards him like a flower to the sun, and honestly, Alexander thinks they're going to be just fine.

"Hey," Josty says. He sits in JT's lap like he knows he's welcome there; JT doesn't dump him out, so Alexander figures he was right. "You wanna maybe get dinner with me tonight? Somewhere… out."

"Somewhere out," JT says, and there's a smile playing around his mouth. "You got anything past that?"

"That we should have a real date before we have sex again," Josty says. "So you know I'm, like, into this. Into you. And not just the sex."

JT's face is red but his expression is soft, and this is about as much as Alexander wants to see, honestly. He pushes his chair back, making sure it drags noisily, and picks his bowl up. "I'm gonna," he says, nodding towards the living room. "You guys have fun, okay? But, like, not in the kitchen."

"Yeah, sure," JT says, and he's leaning towards Josty as Alexander hurries out of the kitchen.

Colton grins at him when he walks in and drops to the couch. "So I take it my pep talk worked?"

"They're going out tonight," Alexander says. "Also, we might need to bleach the kitchen."

"I mean, that's good news," Colton says, laughing. "The date, I mean. The bleach, less so, but at least it's progress."

"And an empty house for a few hours," Alexander says, lowering his voice. "I'm not going to say no to that."

"There is that," Colton agrees. "Winning all around today."

"We are," Alexander says. "Also, you made Josty a better playlist, so hopefully we'll have a better soundtrack tonight."

Colton smirks. "Well, you did mention something about stripping, and I promised better music, so if you're in the mood…"

"Tell me you didn't make a striptease playlist for my roommate," Alexander says. "I have to _live_ here, Colton."

"You'll be fine," Colton says, amused. "And I kept my favorites off the list anyway. We'll have a few that are just for us."

"You're so generous," Alexander mutters, and Colton laughs as he sticks his feet beneath Alexander's thigh. Honestly, Alexander thinks as he wraps a hand around Colton's ankle, _brothers_.

There's noise from the direction of the kitchen, and Alexander turns his head to look and doesn't think to maybe not do that until it's too late. Luckily, it's JT and Josty emerging, and they're both fully clothed, if more than a little mussed. "So, uh," JT says, and Alexander notices that he and Josty are holding hands. "We're… going out."

"Out somewhere," Alexander says, carefully moving his hand away from Colton's ankle. "I heard."

"No, like," Josty says. "We're dating, not just banging. Although that is very much on the table as part of all this."

"Nice," Colton says. "Congrats, you guys."

"And we're probably not telling everyone yet," JT adds. "So, like. Don't spread it around, I guess."

"I won't say anything," Alexander assures, smiling at them. "Not until you're ready. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks," Josty says, smiling brilliantly. "And also, yeah, we're going out today, and we're gonna go figure out what exactly we're doing."

Colton snorts. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

Josty grins and points at him as JT goes red again. Poor guy, Alexander thinks; he definitely knew what he was signing up for, but that doesn't mean he's prepared for Josty's utter lack of anything even resembling shame. "Just because it's the holiday break and you don't get to bang your boyfriend for weeks doesn't mean I can't," he says smugly.

Alexander chokes on air and tips his head back against the couch as Colton barks out a laugh. "I mean, I made the choice to come out here," Colton says. "I'm not upset about it."

"Cool, good," JT says. He takes a step towards the hallway. "Can we stop being mortifying and maybe go do anything else?"

"Aw, babe," Josty says, turning and smacking a kiss to JT's cheek. "Fine, okay. Let's go figure out this date thing."

"Thank god," JT mutters, and then they disappear down the hallway.

"Well," Colton says as they hear one of the bedroom doors shut, "I think that went well."

"You're not wrong," Alexander says. "I just hope they actually leave, and they don't just--"

The music starts, and Colton laughs, sinking back against the couch. Alexander rolls his eyes, but he grins and wraps his fingers around Colton's ankle again, rubbing his thumb against the jut of bone. "Well," he says. "I can't say I'm surprised."

The door to Alexander's room is open; part of the trick to keeping people from figuring out something's off, they've figured out, is to let people see everything except what they're hiding. Colton's on the bed and Alexander's sitting at his desk, and they've been comparing dates and flights for the All-Star break while trying not to listen in to whatever the music was covering, and then trying not to listen harder when the music stopped.

"So, uh," JT says, leaning in the door. He's not super dressed up, Alexander notes, but those are his nice jeans, and he knows exactly how good he looks in the henley he's wearing. "We're heading into the city. We'll be back at some point."

"Have fun," Alexander says. "Let me know when you're heading back so we can be not in the living room and therefore susceptible to seeing whatever you'll be doing as you walk in the front door, okay?"

JT snorts. "I can keep my hands to myself."

"Debatable," Colton interjects. "Also, maybe you can, but Josty can't."

True to form, Josty appears behind JT, sliding an arm around his waist. "Ready?"

"Fine, I'll text you," JT mutters, and Alexander laughs.

"See you later," Colton says, waving as they disappear down the hallway. The front door shuts a moment later, and they listen as the car starts and then pulls away.

Alexander grins at Colton. "Any plans for this nice empty house?"

"I'm keeping you stripping for me in my back pocket," Colton says. "Can I fuck you?"

"Yes," Alexander says immediately, standing and shutting the door. He locks it out of habit, turning when Colton laughs softly at him. "What?"

"Just," he says, gesturing at the door. "They're not here, and even if they were, they're way too busy with each other to come barging in. It's not that I don't get it, but…"

Alexander rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I'm paranoid, I get it," he says, walking to the bed and dropping down next to Colton. "We thought we were alone that time with Daniel, too."

Colton hums. "That's fair."

Alexander plucks Colton's phone from his hand and puts it on the nightstand. "You said something about fucking me?"

"I did," Colton says, rolling until he's over Alexander. He smiles and leans in, kissing him quickly. "How much time do you think we have?"

"A few hours, probably," Alexander says. "Getting into Denver in rush hour is a bitch, and they'll probably get food. And JT's going to text on the way back."

"So we can take our time," Colton says. "Hell yes."

Alexander laughs. "What do you have in mind?"

"This, for a start," Colton says, leaning down and kissing Alexander. It's slow and hot, Colton kissing Alexander just how he loves to be kissed, and Alexander kisses back just as slowly. He puts his hands on Colton's hips, giving himself permission to let them roam, pushing up under Colton's shirt to traces the muscles in his back.

Alexander loves making out with Colton, loves the feeling of it and the way he can feel how much Colton enjoys it, too. The noise of it fills the room around them, the little noises they're both making and the way they shift against each other in the bed. It's the best kind of foreplay, getting Alexander there slowly in the best possible way.

"Hey," Colton says, pulling back, a handful of minutes or half an hour later, Alexander can't be sure. His eyes are wide and dark, and _god_, he's everything Alexander wants. "God, you already look wrecked."

"That just means you're doing it right," Alexander replies, smiling up at him.

"I was going to say 'flattery gets you everywhere,' but is it flattery if it's true?" Colton says, grinning. He climbs off the bed and yanks his shirt off, dropping it to the floor before he pulls the nightstand drawer open and gets the lube. He glances back over at Alexander. "You should get naked."

"Just because there's no music doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the show," Alexander says, gesturing at Colton. 

Colton rolls his hips and laughs. "All-Star break," he promises, popping the button and sliding his jeans and boxers down. "Right now I just want to fuck you."

"That works, since I really want you to fuck me," Alexander says. He grins as he sits up and pulls his shirt off, then lays back down to shove pants down. There's a damp patch on the front of his boxers, and he rubs at it with the palm of his hand just for a little friction as Colton gets back onto the bed.

"Look at you," Colton murmurs. He sits next to Alexander and puts a hand on his stomach, and Alexander shivers at the differnce between the warmth of Colton's hand and the cooler air around them. Colton moves his index finger, scratching lightly at Alexander's stomach before glancing up to meet his eyes. "So I want to take a detour before I fuck you."

"Oh?" Alexander asks, raising an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

Colton lifts his hand from Alexander's stomach, picking up the lube he'd dropped on the bed and holding it out. "Open yourself up for me?"

Alexander groans. "You want to watch?"

"Yeah," Colton says, eyes dark. "I really, really want to watch."

"You've seen me finger myself plenty of times on camera for you," Alexander says, but he reaches out and takes the lube anyway.

Colton grins. "Yeah, but I've never gotten to slide into you when you were done."

"True," Alexander agrees. "Kiss me again first?"

"Always," Colton says, already leaning back in.

Colton tangles his fingers in Alexander's hair and tugs slightly, and Alexander tilts his head at Colton's silent request. It makes the kiss perfect, deep and hot and wet, and Alexander feels dizzy with it when Colton pulls back.

"Please," Colton whispers against Alexander's lips. "Show me."

"Yeah," Alexander says. Colton pulls back, and Alexander smiles at him. "Take my boxers off?"

"Getting you naked is one of my favorite things to do," Colton says, grinning as he hooks his fingers beneath the elastic of Alexander's waistband. He pulls down slowly but steadily, and Alexander shudders as he lifts his hips, giving Colton the room to pull them down past his thighs and down his legs. Colton looks up to Alexander with a smile as he flings them off the end of the bed.

"Thanks," Alexander says into the quiet of the room, and Colton laughs softly.

"My pleasure," he says. "Literally, in a little while."

"Oh my god," Alexander says, rolling his eyes and smiling. It breaks the softness of the mood, but it's not a bad thing at all, the two of them laughing while they sleep together.

Colton moves so he's sitting on the end of the bed. "Whenever you're ready," he says, gesturing at the hand Alexander still has clenched around the lube.

"Bossy," Alexander says, but he's grinning as he clicks the bottle open.

"You've been telling me that my whole life," Colton says, laughing. "At this point, I feel like it's a compliment."

"You don't hear me complaining," Alexander says, squeezing lube onto his fingers and hitching his left leg up. He bites his lip and thinks about what he usually shows Colton when they're Skyping; he teases, he knows, so he reaches between his legs and rubs a finger against his hole. It's so different, doing it himself; it's still good, though, still sends anticipation flickering up his spine, and it makes Colton's eyes go dark as he watches.

Alexander keeps rubbing against himself, smearing lube all over the place. When Colton leans forward slightly, still watching, Alexander pauses his fingers, then pushes the tips of two in at the same time, slow and steady and _good_.

"Fuck," Colton chokes out. "Alexander."

"Yeah?" Alexander asks, curling his fingers so he can tug at his rim.

Colton groans. "God, if I could make a video of this, I'd never need porn again."

Alexander laughs breathily. "You'll just have to remember," he says, pushing his fingers in deeper. He knows for a fact that he can't get at his prostate from this angle, but the stretch is good enough, the way his body relaxes as he pushes his fingers in as deeply as he can get them.

"This is the part of Skyping with you that always makes me wish I was here," Colton says, voice low. "So I could get my mouth on you while you fingered yourself open for me."

Alexander groans as his cock twitches. "If you want," he starts, and Colton leans in and licks at the head of his cock before he can finish the thought. It's hot, is Alexander's thought, and he groans again when he pulls his fingers out just to push them back in, doing his best not to rock into Colton's mouth when he starts to suck at the tip.

"You," Alexander says, working his hand a little faster. "You're so good at that, oh my god."

Colton hums around him before pulling off. "You know how much practice I've had," he says, grinning at Alexander. "You've been there for literally all of it."

It makes Alexander whimper as he thrusts his fingers in hard, the reminder that Colton chose _him_, Colton has never wanted to sleep with anyone but _him_. There's a perverse pride in it, a feeling like it makes him the best kind of brother if he's able to give Colton everything he wants, everything he needs.

"Still the only cock I've ever had in my mouth," Colton adds, smiling wickedly when Alexander's cock jumps against his stomach again. "Although if Daniel asks…"

"If Daniel asks," Alexander agrees. He hadn't, not after that first time, but they'd both caught him looking more than once over the course of the summer. Alexander won't be surprised when it happens again, because he's almost sure that it will.

Now, though, now's for him and Colton, and for the way he's easily pumping two fingers in and out of himself. "You should," Alexander starts, and Colton moves, grabbing the lube and sitting back to slick himself up. Alexander loves it, loves the familiarity they have with each other, loves how he doesn't have to say every single word for Colton to know exactly what he means. It's partially because they've been doing this for years, Alexander knows, but more than that, it's them growing up together, the two of them learning to read each other on the ice and in heated family board game nights and in them spreading their sleeping bags in the backyard every summer, curling up together even then for comfort as much as warmth. They're brothers, and it adds to this in ways Alexander never could have anticipated the first time Colton kissed him.

"Here," Colton says, shifting forward, and Alexander pulls his fingers out and spreads his legs, wrapping one around Colton's waist as he pushes in. Alexander's glad there's nobody home, because it means he can open his mouth and let every noise out, the little gasps and grunts and whines that are the best he can do to express how it feels to have Colton fucking into him like this.

"You," Colton breathes out, hips working in slow thrusts to push farther and farther into Alexander's body. "Oh my god, Alexander."

"Yeah," Alexander says. There's no chance to adjust, no way to get more used to it; Colton's fucking him steadily, thrusting in as soon as he pulls out, and it's sending sparks jolting up and down Alexander's spine with every little movement he makes. It's all Alexander can focus on, the way Colton's sliding in and out of him, thick and hot as he pushes in again and again.

"God," Colton groans out, falling to his elbows above Alexander. He presses kisses to his temple, his cheek, his jaw, and when Alexander whines and turns his head, Colton kisses him deep and slow as he grinds in. Alexander clutches at Colton's shoulders, keeping him close and sinking into it, feeling Colton around him just as much as inside him. It's overwhelming in the best possible way, and Alexander feels himself relaxing, letting Colton slide a little deeper, a little closer.

Alexander whines when Colton pulls back, and Colton brushes another kiss against his lips before pushing up to his knees. He puts his hands on Alexander's hips and meets his eyes. "Can I?"

"Yeah, yes," Alexander says, nodding in case the extra emphasis is in any way necessary.

Colton grins and pulls out of him slowly, then snaps his hips forward as he tugs Alexander closer by the hips, and he drives so deep that it punches a noise from Alexander's chest. It echoes a little in the room around him, and Colton pulls back and thrusts in again quickly, making another noise fall from Alexander's lips. It's loud, obscene, the smack of Colton's hips again Alexander's ass, the rhythmic noises that Alexander is making as Colton fucks into him.

Alexander reaches down and gets a hand on himself, not stroking so much as he's letting Colton's thrusts push his cock up into his hand. It's good, it's great, and Alexander feels the heat pool in his stomach.

"Are you close?" Colton asks. His voice is a little strained, the way it gets when he's getting there, and the knowledge makes Alexander clench around him.

"Yeah," Alexander says as Colton thrusts in hard. "Yeah, I'm-- just a little more, Colton. I'm so close."

"You look so good on my cock," Colton says, voice low. "You'll look even better coming while I'm fucking you, though."

Alexander cries out and starts stroking for real, clenching around Colton as he keeps fucking in. His face is so hot, but there's no real reason to hide how much he likes hearing it. "Please," he says again.

"You're gorgeous, baby," Colton says, hips speeding up, giving it to Alexander just a little bit harder, a little faster. "Come on, come for me. You can do it."

Alexander keens and squeezes himself, left foot kicking against the bed as he comes, cock jerking in his hand. Colton groans as Alexander clenches, more a reaction than something he means to do, and he shudders a moment later, going still with his cock buried deep in Alexander's ass.

Colton sighs a moment later and drops down on top of Alexander, not bothering to hold himself up this time. Alexander closes his eyes and wraps his arm around Colton, patting absently at his back as he buries his nose in Colton's hair. It's nice, the closeness, the heaviness on top of him as Alexander's mind floats a little, dizzy aftershocks running through him every time Colton shifts his hips. 

"God, I love you," Colton mumbles, pressing a kiss against Alexander's chest, and all Alexander can do is hold him tighter.

Josty and JT orbit around each other more now than they had before, which is actually saying quite a lot. They were already drawn to each other like magnets in almost every situation, but now that they're actively seeking each other out, it's…

"Wow," Colton says, not bothering to lower his voice as they walk into the living room, JT sitting on the couch and Josty fully sitting in his lap. "You guys know you can be more than five feet away from each other, right? Like, it's not dangerous for your health."

"But why would we want to?" Josty asks, not picking his head up from where it's tucked into JT's neck.

"Yeah, we're good," JT adds. Alexander highly doubts that JT's actually watching whatever's playing on Netflix, not with the way his arm is wrapped around Josty's waist and his free hand is resting on Josty's knee. "Maybe we're making up for you not spending the holiday break with your boyfriend, Colton."

Colton laughs, and Alexander has to bite his cheek so he doesn't join in. "Yeah," he says. "Sure. I'll pretend I believe that."

"We're gonna nap," Alexander says, more to derail that particular topic than anything else.

"I'm sympathy napping," Colton says. "If everyone else is sleeping…"

JT laughs. "Yeah I get that," he says. "I did it on IR last year. Hockey players are just programmed to sleep in the middle of the day."

"We are," Josty agrees. "We're gonna nap too, and then we're gonna kick Islander ass."

"Don't nap there," Alexander advises when neither one of them moves. "Coach'll kill you."

"I'm not afraid of Coach," Josty says.

"Liar," JT says. "I like you a lot, bud, but that was a lie."

"Support me," Josty whines, throwing his arms over JT's shoulders. JT snorts, but he leans forward to kiss Josty.

"Yeah, nap, bye," Colton says, turning and heading down the hallway, and Alexander grins and follows.

Their nap is fine; their game against the Islanders is… not fine. It's one game, but it's starting to feel like their hot start maybe isn't going to be enough to keep them going, and Alexander doesn't want to worry, but it's getting to the point where he thinks he might have to anyway.

"Sucks," Colton says, bumping their shoulders together in the hallway outside the locker room after the game. "At least you play the Habs next. That one should be better."

"I hope so," Alexander mutters, heading for the exit. "Coach might rage quit if we keep playing like we played tonight."

Colton snorts as they walk out of the building, glancing around. "Isn't that what your last coach did?"

"Thankfully, that was before me," Alexander says. "Still, though. I don't want to start a precedent or whatever."

"I mean, I could help take your mind off of it," Colton offers with a smirk. "If you want."

Alexander feels his face heat, glad that it's cold enough out that he can blame the weather. "Colton," he hisses.

"Nobody else is out here," Colton says. "I checked. Chill out."

Alexander takes a deep, even breath in and out. "Still," he says quietly. "If we're found out, we lose this. Please."

Colton's face goes serious. "Hey," he says as they approach the car. "I wouldn't do anything to put this in danger, okay? I--" He cuts himself off and chuckles quietly. "I'll save it for when we're in the car."

"Same here," Alexander says, trying to smile and knowing it's crooked on his face. They're quiet as Alexander unlocks the car and they both climb in. "I love you, and maybe I'm being overly cautious--"

"No," Colton cuts in, voice firm. "I love you too, okay? And you're right. I'm just too used to nobody knowing, and sometimes it makes me feel like nobody possibly could."

"Daniel," Alexander points out as he starts the car.

"Daniel," Colton agrees. "I'll be more careful. I promise."

"Thank you," Alexander says. He glances over and smiles at Colton, and this one feels fuller, more calm. "I'm not saying no to you taking my mind off of it, by the way. Just not in the parking lot again, not this time."

Colton's laugh creases up his whole face, and Alexander keeps finding new ways to fall in love with him, he's finding. "Okay," he agrees. "How about we cuddle at home tonight, and then we find some time tomorrow to think about things that aren't hockey?"

"You've convinced me," Alexander says as he starts the drive home. He smiles when Colton laughs again. "Look, I just had to tell you no about something. My reserves are tapped, and you can probably get anything from me now."

"Oh, well, in that case," Colton says as Alexander merges onto the highway. Colton lays his hand on the center console. "Hold my hand?"

Alexander smiles and reaches out to take it. "Absolutely."

Practice is light; the season is starting to wear on all of them, the on-again off-again nights of playing plus the losing that they're all just barely not talking about. It means that they're all showered and back into their clothes in about an hour, and Alexander's gathering his things up when the social media people swoop into the room.

"We need victims," Lauren announces, looking around. She narrows her eyes at Alexander, then shakes her head. "Kerf is off the hook because he's got family in town, which means…"

"Not it," Josty says immediately, but Lauren's laugh echoes around the locker room as she walks towards him and JT.

"Aw, come on, Josty," she says, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "You know you love spending time with me."

"Good luck, buddy," Alexander calls, making his way quickly towards the door before Lauren can change her mind.

He's in a great mood by the time he gets home; JT and Josty getting tagged for social media stuff means they'll be occupied for a few hours, which will give him the chance to spend time with Colton again. They've been lucky, he knows, being able to spend so much time in the house without Josty and JT there to possibly overhear.

Alexander drops his keys on the table and kicks his shoes off, already smiling as he walks down the hallway. "Hey," he says as he pushes the bedroom door open, and then he has to stop and just look for a moment. Colton's spread out in the bed, blinking at Alexander like he's just waking up, and with how the sun's coming in the window and the way the sheet is pooled around Colton's waist, it's a lot to take in.

"Hi," Colton says, smiling at him. His head is still on the pillow, arms folded underneath it, and Alexander knows the smile on his face has to be full of everything he's feeling as he pushes the door shut behind him and walks to the bed.

"Hi," Alexander says, sitting down and pushing his hand through Colton's hair. "Josty and JT got caught by our social media people, so they're busy for a while."

Colton's smile broadens. "So we have the house to ourselves?"

"We do," Alexander confirms. "For a few hours, at least."

"Awesome," Colton says. He pushes himself up and the sheet falls, and he's as naked as Alexander had left him this morning, but this time Alexander doesn't have to be anywhere but right here. He cups Colton's face in his hand as he leans in to kiss him.

"Let me get naked," Alexander says, letting go and standing. He's more quick than graceful, tossing his clothes mostly in the direction of the hamper and not caring that they fall short. Colton's smiling at him when he turns back around, though, and that's more than worth having to pick his clothes up later.

He climbs back onto the bed, straddling Colton's lap as Colton rolls to his back. "What do you want?" he asks.

"This," Colton says, putting his hands on Alexander's ass and squeezing. Neither of them is hard, not yet, but Alexander shifts his hips against Colton's and figures it won't be long until they both get there.

"Just this?" Alexander asks, bending forward so he can hold himself up over Colton. It's easy to duck down and kiss him, so Alexander does, more lingering than anything else.

"You did say we have a few hours," Colton points out. "Let's see where this takes us."

"That's enough of a plan for me," Alexander says. He moves his hips again, leaning back in to kiss Colton as they move together. It's silly to think of any one thing they do in bed together as more intimate than any of the rest of it, but Alexander's thinking it all the same, rolling their hips together and kissing each other softly while the light spills in around the curtains.

"Hey," Colton breathes out, and Alexander's close enough to feel the word against his lips. "Since we have the time for it, you should fuck me."

"Yeah?" Alexander asks. "If you want it, I want it."

Colton's smile is quick and full. "I think we've determined that I want it whenever we can do it."

Alexander laughs and kisses him once more before sitting up. He leans over and pulls the nightstand drawer open, fishing the lube out and setting it beside Colton. "How do you want to do this?"

"I want you to come back down here," Colton says. His hands have moved to Alexander's hips and he squeezes gently, and Alexander knows what's coming but he still laughs as Colton rolls them so he's straddling Alexander's hips.

Colton grins down at him and leans in. "Now we can keep doing this," he says, moving his hips against Alexander's. "But you can finger me at the same time."

"You're assuming a lot about my coordination, I think," Alexander says, but he reaches out for the lube and clicks it open, squeezing a little out.

Colton laughs. "I've seen what you can do with those hands," he says. "I have faith in you."

"Well, if you have faith in me, then I guess that's all that matters," Alexander replies. He puts his clean hand on Colton's face, cupping his jaw as he kisses him, and trails the fingers of his other hand down between Colton's cheeks. Colton hums against his lips as Alexander pushes the tip of a finger into him, and Alexander pushes a little deeper. He won't be able to get in very far, not at this angle, but it's worth it for how close Colton is, the way Colton keeps moving his hips against Alexander as they kiss.

"Come on, give me more," Colton murmurs, his lips brushing against Alexander's.

Alexander turns his head slightly and kisses the edge of Colton's mouth. "Already?"

"If I wasn't ready to take a lot, I wouldn't have asked you to fuck me," Colton says, amused.

"Fair," Alexander concedes. He kisses Colton again as he pulls his finger out, then pushes against him with two. Colton sighs as Alexander pushes in, and Alexander shudders with how tight Colton feels around him, how good--

"Yo, man, I-- _what the fuck_," Alexander hears, followed by the sound of his bedroom door hitting the wall. There's a distant part of his brain that wants to chide Josty for throwing it open with that much force, but the rest of his thoughts are just white noise as Colton swears and tumbles off of him, scrambling for the sheets to cover them up.

"Uh," Alexander says, and his voice sounds high to his own ears. "You… you were doing media stuff?"

Josty's eyes are so, so wide. "No," he says. "JT is, but Lauren said they didn't need me and it was gonna be a while, so I came home? To see if you guys wanted to grab lunch?"

"Uh," Alexander says again. His heart is beating a million miles an hour in his chest. "I… we."

"I'm gonna just," Josty says, jerking his thumb back over his shoulder. "Clothes? Clothes, and-- what the _fuck_, you guys."

"Clothes," Colton repeats. "And give us a few, Josty, okay? We'll, uh. Just give us a few, and we can… talk?"

"Okay, yeah, sure," Josty says. He backpedals out of the room, then darts back in to pull the door closed.

The sound of it slamming is loud in the sudden silence of the bedroom. Alexander takes a steadying breath, then another, before turning to face Colton.

"Hey," he whispers. "I love you, and I'm sorry I'm a fucking dumbass who forgot to lock the door after being so insistent about it the other day."

"I love you too, and we'll get through this," Colton says, leaning in to kiss him quickly. "But we should get out there so he doesn't have time to think up a million crazy things."

"Too late," Alexander mutters. He pushes himself up, and his legs feel weak under him as he stands in a way he knows has nothing to do with skate this morning. He feels a little numb as he pulls his clothes back on, and it feels like it takes forever and also no time at all before he's standing by the door.

Colton reaches out and takes his hand, holding it tightly. "Let's do this," he says, and he doesn't let go as he pushes the door open and leads Alexander down the hallway.

Josty is sitting on the recliner, and he jolts when he sees them. His gaze drops to their hands, but he doesn't say anything, and Colton keeps holding on as he sits on the couch, pulling Alexander down beside him. Alexander doesn't know where to start, what to say, but he knows Josty, knows he won't have to wait too long before--

"Okay, like," Josty says. "What the _absolute fuck_ did I just walk in on?"

Alexander squeezes Colton's hand hard. "We, uh."

"Josty, let me introduce you to my boyfriend," Colton says. His voice is quiet, but it doesn't waver at all. "The one I've been refusing to give you details about this whole trip, because I love him a lot but he's not out."

"You," Josty says. He shakes his head. "That's-- you're _brothers_."

"We know," Colton says.

"This is _fucked up_," Josty says, and now he sounds a little hysterical. "This is so completely fucked up, oh my god."

"We know that, too," Alexander says. "It's… we _know_ what this looks like."

"What this looks like," Josty echoes. "Are you-- are you sure about that, man? Because it _looks like_ I should be calling the cops on you--"

"No," Colton says, and it's louder than anything else in this conversation has been so far. Alexander glances at Colton, who's staring at Josty. He's pale, but his expression isn't showing how nervous he is. "It's-- this isn't new, okay, but it didn't start until after I was legal, and I started it. Whatever you're thinking about him fucking me up as a kid or whatever, stop it _right_ goddamn now."

Josty blinks; whatever he'd been expecting, Alexander thinks, it hadn't been that. "What the fuck," he says yet again, but this time it sounds more like he's just saying it to say it.

Alexander takes a deep breath. "Look," he says quietly. "This is… we love each other, and we're aware that it's a pretty fucked-up situation. If you don't want us here, we'll go to a hotel for the rest of Colton's visit, and if you want me to move out--"

"Move out?" Josty asks. "No, I-- jesus christ. Just, like. Give me a minute over here, okay?"

"Okay," Alexander says. He kind of desperately wants to lean into Colton's side right now, but he also doesn't want to push his luck, so he settles for gripping his hand and trying to keep his breathing even.

"Wait, wait," Josty says suddenly, and Alexander looks up to see him raising his eyebrows. "How long?"

"Three and a half years, give or take," Alexander says. "Colton was--"

"Legal, yeah," Josty says. He lets out what Alexander can only describe as a hysterical giggle. "But you were together last year, which means that when I saw you at training camp skating like you'd gotten thoroughly fucked--"

Alexander feels his face heat up. "Oh my god."

"That was you," Josty says, looking at to Colton. "Oh my god. The first thing I ever said to his face was 'wow, you got dicked good last night, huh,' and it was _you_?"

Colton chokes on air. "You said _what_?"

"I don't know if you've noticed this about me," Josty says, spreading his arms to the sides, "but I'm not a subtle person."

"Josty," Alexander says, leaning forward. "Please don't-- please don't tell anyone. _Please_."

Josty closes his eyes and shakes his head a little. "Because if I told people, it would fuck up everything," he mutters. "Not just hockey, _everything_."

"It would," Colton says. His voice has gone back to that quiet, steady tone. "And we… we don't want to pressure you, man. Like Alexander said, we'll make ourselves scarce if that's what you want. All we're asking is that you not say anything."

Josty shakes his head a little, opening his eyes. "JT would get suspicious if you just up and left."

Alexander shrugs helplessly. "I don't know what else to offer you here," he says. "If you have something in mind--"

"No, just," Josty says. He takes a deep breath, then nods. "Okay, so. You," he says, pointing at Colton. "This was your idea?"

"I mean, I didn't say no," Alexander interjects.

Josty waves a hand at him. "Shut up for a minute. Colton?"

"I kissed him first," Colton says. "And then I spent the next three years asking for every single thing we did together. We didn't… Alexander wanted to make sure he wasn't taking advantage."

Josty nods again. "And you," he says, pointing at Alexander. "You love him?"

"More than anything," Alexander says softly. "More than anyone."

"Okay," Josty says, letting out a huge sigh. "I'm not going to say I understand, because I fucking very much do not, but-- okay. You guys are together, you're dating, you're sleeping together, and that's… it's all good."

Alexander blinks. "Wait," he says cautiously.

"You're sitting here swearing to me that you're not hurting each other," Josty says. "It's not like you can accidentally get pregnant, so you're not gambling with fucked-up DNA or whatever." His face flashes red. "And, like. Now that I'm not thinking about, uh, the rest of what I saw, the look on your face when I walked in..."

Alexander's face heats. "I love him," he says. "I'm-- I'm not ashamed of that. It's not a secret because I'm _ashamed_ of any of this. It's a secret because it would ruin everything for both of us if it got out."

Josty nods. "So it won't get out," he says firmly. "And you'll get better about fucking locking your door."

Colton snorts. "This is the first time it's been unlocked since I've been here."

"I'm usually more careful," Alexander says. "Especially since Daniel--"

"Daniel," Josty says when Alexander shuts his mouth. "As in your other brother?"

"You're the second person to walk in on us," Colton says. "And that was earlier this summer. We really do need to get better about locking the door."

"I'm getting a deadbolt," Alexander mutters. Now that he's calmer, now that Josty's said he won't say anything, it's at least a little funny that the only two times they've been interrupted have been two of the only times they haven't locked the door.

"I'm getting a goddamn security system," Josty says. "With a motion alarm for right outside your door."

Colton laughs. "Well, that would give us time to get our pants on," he says dryly. "Although I have to think JT would be suspicious about that, too."

"I can handle JT," Josty says confidently. There's a smirk playing at his lips now. "Speaking of which, does this mean I can blast my playlist extra loud at night now?"

"The new one," Colton stresses. "You promised me you were getting rid of the other one."

"Spotify is forever, man," Josty says, laughing, and Alexander breathes in deeply and lets it out as Colton laughs along.

They're safe, he tells himself. They're here, and Josty knows, and they're still holding hands. Josty's laughing about one of the terrible songs on his old playlist, and Colton is teasing him about it, and there's still a week and a half before Colton heads back to Harvard.

He squeezes Colton's hand and smiles when Colton squeezes back. Everything is going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing bad is gonna happen to them for keeps, I promise you that. I'm too soft.
> 
> Also, I have... created a Twitter... specifically so I can ramble on as I write this series. If you want sneak peeks or my NSFW thoughts on some other Avs, give @halfstepoff a follow!


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